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Modern space missions depend more and more on electric propulsion devices for in-space
flights. The superior efficiency by ionizing the feedgas and propelling them using electric
fields with regard to conventional chemical thrusters makes them a great alternative. To
find optimized thruster designs is of high importance for industrial applications. Building
new prototypes is very expensive and takes a lot of time. A cheaper alternative is to rely
on computer simulations to get a deeper understanding of the underlying physics. In order
to gain a realistic simulation the whole system has to be taken into account including the
channel and the plume region. Because numerical models have to resolve the smallest time
and spatial scales, simulations take up an unfeasible amount of time. Usually a self-similarity
scaling scheme is used to greatly speed up these simulations. Until now the limits of this
method have not been thoroughly discussed. Therefore, this thesis investigates the limits
and the influence of the self-similarity scheme on simulations of ion thrusters. The aim
is to validate the self-similarity scaling and to look for application oriented tools to use
for thruster design optimization. As a test system the High-Efficiency-Multistage-Plasma
thruster (HEMP-T) is considered.
To simulate the HEMP-T a fully kinetic method is necessary. For low-temperature plasmas,
as found in the HEMP-T, the Particle-in-Cell (PIC) method has proven to be the best
choice. Unfortunately, PIC requires high spatial and temporal resolution and is hence
computationally costly. This limits the size of the devices PIC is able to simulate as well
as limiting the exploration of a wider design space of different thrusters. The whole system
is physically described using the Boltzmann and Maxwell equations. Using these system
of equations invariants can be derived. In the past, these invariants were used to derive a
self-similarity scaling law, maintaining the exact solution for the plasma volume, which is
applicable to ion thrusters and other plasmas. With the aid of the self-similarity scaling
scheme the computation cost can be reduced drastically. The drawback of the geometrical
scaling of the system is, that the plasma density and therefore the Debye length does not
scale. This expands the length at which charge separation occurs in respect to the system
size. In this thesis the limits of this scaling are investigated and the influence of the scaling
at higher scaling factors is studied. The specific HEMP-T design chosen for these studies is
the DP1.
Because the application of scaling laws is limited by the increasing influence of charge separation with increased scaling, PIC simulations still are computationally costly. Another approach to explore a wider design space is given using Multi-Objective-Design-Optimization
(MDO). MDO uses different tools to generate optimized thruster designs in a comparatively
short amount of time. This new approach is validated using the PIC method. During this
validation the drawback of the MDO surfaces. The MDO calculations are not self-consistent
and are based on empirical values of old thruster designs as input parameters, which not
necessarily match the new optimized thruster design. By simulating the optimized thruster
design with PIC and recalculate the former input parameters, a more realistic thruster design is achieved. This process can be repeated iteratively. The combination of self-consistent
PIC simulations with the performance of MDO is a great way to generate optimized thruster
designs in a comparatively short amount of time. The proof of concept of such a combination
is the pinnacle of this thesis.
In this work, studies with respect to the exhaust problem were performed
in the stellarator experiment Wendelstein 7-X with different target concepts and different magnetic field geometries. Different infrared cameras were used to study the heat flux from the plasma onto the PFC. In the first publication, the limiter set-up was used with a simpler magnetic topology in the plasma edge. The radial fall-off of the parallel heat flux for inboard limiters in W7-X shows, similar to inboard limiters in tokamaks, two different radial fall-off lengths, a short (narrow) one, characterizing the near-SOL, and a long (broad) characterizing the far-SOL. For the far-SOL, the heating power and connection length have been identified as the main scaling parameters, while for the near-SOL, the electron temperature close to the LCFS has been identified as the main scaling parameter. The two fall-off lengths differ by a factor 10, and the found scalings for both regimes differ from known models and experimental scalings in tokamaks. A turbulent-driven feature was discussed in the publication as a possible explanation for the behavior of the fall-off length in W7-X.
The gained information and data have been further used to support many
other publications, covering the symmetry of the heat loads, the
energy balance of the machine, and seeding experiments.
The heat exhaust in W7-X with an island divertor was studied in the second
and third publication. Definitions of parameters such as peaking factor and
wetted area were applied for the heterogeneous heat flux pattern on the
W7-X divertor. It was shown that the island divertor concept is capable
of spreading out the heat efficiently, resulting in large wetted areas of up to 1.5 m2. The reached values for the wetted area are comparable to the ones of the larger tokamak JET but with a much smaller ratio of wetted
area to the area of the last closed flux surface. Furthermore, a positive
scaling of the wetted area with the power in the SOL was observed. This
scaling is beneficial for future reactors but needs further investigation of the involved transport processes. The peaking factor (discussed in the second publication) describes how concentrated the heat load is within the region of the strike line. It was shown that this factor is decreasing for increasing densities without affecting the wetted area. The present work paves the way for further analysis of the transport processes of the heat flux towards the island divertor of Wendelstein 7-X.
Plasmapolymerisation mit einem Atmosphärendruck-Mikroplasma-Jet zur Bildung funktioneller Schichten
(2012)
In Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde die Plasmapolymerisation von aminogruppenhaltigen und perfluorierten Kohlenwasserstoffen mit einem Atmosphärendruck Mikroplasma Jet untersucht, mit dem Ziel einer erstmaligen erfolgreichen Abscheidung von Teflon-artigen und aminogruppenhaltigen Schichten. Hierzu wurde ein Versuchsaufbau zur Schichtabscheidung mit einem Mikroplasma-Jet bei Atmosphärendruckbedingungen konzipiert und aufgebaut. Dieser besteht im Wesentlichen aus dem Plasma-Jet und der ihn umgebenden Glaskuppel, welche die Erzeugung definierter Umgebungsatmosphären bei Normaldruck gestattet sowie vor eventuell entstehenden toxischen Reaktionsprodukten schützt. Als erste Aufgabe wurde die Deposition mit den aminogruppenhaltigen Präkursoren Cyclopropylamin (CPA) und Ethylendiamin (EDA) bearbeitet. Es zeigte sich, dass die Abscheidung im selbstorganisierten Jet-Modus möglich war. Die abgeschiedenen Schichten besitzen trotz eines kuppelförmigen Abscheidungsprofils eine homogene chemische Struktur mit einem Stickstoffgehalt von bis zu 20%, wie durch Profilometrie beziehungsweise XPS ermittelt wurde. Es wurden Werte von [NH2]/[C] zwischen 5,5 % und 3 % (EDA) sowie 4 % und 1 % (CPA) erreicht, abhängig von der Behandlungszeit der Substrate und der verwendeten Umgebungsatmosphäre. Die Schutzgasatmosphäre, bestehend aus einem Gemisch aus Stickstoff und Wasserstoff, welche dazu gedacht war die Bildung primärer Aminogruppen zu unterstützen, hatte einen negativen Effekt auf die Abscheidung. Im Vergleich zu einem Prozess an Luft wurde die Depositionsrate halbiert. Weiterhin konnte ein positiver Effekt auf den Anteil der Aminogruppen nur bei CPA festgestellt werden. Bezüglich der chemischen Zusammensetzung der Schichten wird ein erstes Modell der Plasmapolymerisationsreaktionen vorgestellt, welches auf dem wiederholten Vorgang der Abspaltung einer Aminogruppe und der nachfolgenden Reaktion der so entstandenen Radikale basiert. Bei der Bearbeitung der zweiten Aufgabe, der Deposition von fluorierten Plasmapolymer-Schichten, wurde ein spezielles Entladungsregime des Jets entdeckt. Die hierbei identifizierten Konditionen ermöglichten erstmalig die Abscheidung von C:F-Schichten mit einem Atmosphärendruck Jet. Hierbei wurden mit Octafluorcyclobutan (c-C4F8) als Präkursor, mit hohen Wachstumsraten (bis zu 43 nm/s mit N2-Atmosphäre) Schichten erzeugt. In diesen wurde mitttels XPS eine homogene chemische Struktur mit einem [F]/[C]-Verhältnis von 1,4 und einem sehr geringen Gehalt an Stickstoff und Sauerstoff nachgewiesen. Fits des hoch aufgelöst gemessenen C 1s Peaks zeigen einen Vernetzungsgrad von 44 % und ein [CF2]/[CF3]-Verhältnis von rund 1,8. Der statische Wasserkontaktwinkel bei diesen Schichten lag im Bereich von 100° – 135°. Die geforderte Hydrophobie der Schichten wurde damit erreicht. Luft als Umgebungsatmosphäre während des Beschichtungsprozesses führt nicht zu einem überwiegend ätzenden Plasmaprozess, reduziert jedoch die Depositionsrate um Faktor vier. Änderungen der chemischen Zusammensetzung der Schicht im Vergleich zur Schutzgasatmosphäre wurden nicht festgestellt. Die Verwendung von Octafluorpropan (C3F8) als Präkursor ergab nur ein minimales Schichtwachstum unter Schutzgas- und kein Wachstum unter Luft-Atmosphäre. Basierend auf den Beobachtungen anderer Autoren, wurde dies durch für die Plasmapolymerisation ungünstigere Fragmentierung des Präkursors erklärt. Das spezielle Entladungsregime, die eingeschnürte und lokalisierte bogenähnliche Entladung, wird als die Ausprägung einer --Modus Atmosphärendruck Entladung erklärt, bei der das Substrat als zweite geerdete Elektrode fungiert. Hierzu ist eine ausreichende Leitfähigkeit des Substrats notwendig. Anhand eines vereinfachten Ersatzschaltbildes werden die beobachteten Abhängigkeiten von Substratmaterial und Entladungsregime modelliert
Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden erstmalig systematische Untersuchungen zum Thema „Plasma-Flüssigkeits-Wechselwirkungen“ dargestellt. Es gelang mit Hilfe einer geeigneten kalten Atmosphärendruckplasmaquelle in Form einer dielektrisch behinderten Oberflächenentladung (DBE) ein Plasma in verschiedenen Arbeitsgasen zu zünden und Flüssigkeiten ohne direkten Plasmakontakt zu behandeln. Um einen Einblick in die komplexen Mechanismen zu bekommen, wurde im analytischen Teil dieser Arbeit das Plasma mittels OES untersucht, die angrenzende Gas-Phase mittels FT-IR-Spektroskopie und MS, und anschließend die Flüssigkeit unter Nutzung photometrischer Methoden und pH-Wert-Messungen. Auf der Basis dieser Untersuchungen folgten theoretische Ausführungen zu möglichen Wechselwirkungen der detektierten Komponenten mit der Flüssigkeit. Theoretisch entstehen bei der Luftplasmabehandlung von Wasser, über Zwischenprodukte (ROS und RNS) wie z. B. HO•, HOO•, NO•, NO2•, schlussendlich H+, NO3-, NO2- und H2O2. Bei der Argon- und Argon-Sauerstoff-Plasmabehandlung von Wasser dürften aufgrund des Stickstoffmangels nur ROS entstehen, die in der Entstehung von H+ und H2O2 enden. Diese Hypothesen zur Bildung der Spezies NO3-, NO2- und H2O2, sowie die Ansäuerung der Flüssigkeit wurden mittels photometrischer Methoden und pH-Wert-Messungen überprüft und bestätigt. Im anschließenden biologischen Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde der Einfluss der Plasmabehandlungen in den verschiedenen Arbeitsgasen auf in physiologischer NaCl-Lösung und PBS suspendierte Mikroorganismen (E. coli, S. aureus und B. atrophaeus Sporen) untersucht. In ungepuffertem Medium wurden die vegetativen Mikroorganismen innerhalb weniger Minuten Plasmabehandlung inaktiviert. In PBS hingegen wurden längere Behandlungszeiten benötigt. Das Plasma hatte auf die suspendierten Sporen wie erwartet kaum eine inaktivierende Wirkung. Die zwei vermutlichen Hauptwege laufen einerseits über reaktive Stickstoffspezies (RNS) und andererseits über reaktive Sauerstoffspezies (ROS). RNS können in Wechselwirkung mit Wasser über diverse zelltoxische Zwischenprodukte wie z. B. NO•, NO2•, N2O3, ONOOH, ONOO- zu NO3- und NO2- umgesetzt werden. ROS in Interaktion mit Wasser resultieren in Bildung von H+ und H2O2. Auch hier wird angenommen, dass eine Vielzahl an antimikrobiellen Komponenten entsteht, z. B. HO•, HOO•, O2•-. Es gibt folglich sehr viele Reaktionen und Interaktionen zwischen plasmagenerierten reaktiven Spezies und Wasser, welche in zelltoxischen Komponenten enden und die inaktivierende Wirkung des Plasmas auf suspendierte Mikroorganismen erklären. Um die Interaktionen zwischen den Phasen Plasma-Gas-Flüssigkeit besser zu verstehen und Hypothesen zu prüfen, wurden einerseits die Mikroorganismen-Suspensionen und destilliertes Wasser nur mit plasmabehandeltem Gas behandelt und andererseits die Mikroorganismen plasmabehandelter Flüssigkeit ausgesetzt. Die Untersuchungen zeigten deutlich, dass die plasmainitiierte Chemie und damit die biologischen Effekte des Plasmas auf das Gas bzw. in Flüssigkeit übertragen werden. Folglich werden biologische Effekte des Plasmas über die Gas- und Flüssigkeits-Phase vermittelt und Plasma-Flüssigkeits-Wechselwirkungen müssen immer im zusammenhängenden chemischen System Plasma-Gas-Flüssigkeit(-Zelle) betrachtet werden. Weiterhin wurden chemische und mikrobiologische Effekte durch den Einfluss von gasförmigem NO• und O3 auf Wasser bzw. suspendierte Mikroorganismen untersucht und mit der Luftplasmabehandlung verglichen. Hierbei zeigten beide Begasung deutlich geringere inaktivierende Effekte als die Luftplasmabehandlung. Die Begasung von Mikroorganismen mit NO• und O3 und die Analytik von begastem Wasser geben einen detaillierten Einblick in die Chemie und Mechanismen der RNS und ROS. Die Behandlung mit der dielektrisch behinderten Oberflächenentladung in Luft vereint diese zwei Hauptwege über RNS und ROS und resultierte somit in effektiveren antimikrobiellen Wirkungen. Durch die Experimente der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde ein geeignetes biologisches Modell gefunden und validiert, um den Einfluss von Plasma auf lebende Zellen zu untersuchen und Mechanismen von Plasmabehandlungen aufzudecken. Anhand des Modells „Mikroorganismen-Suspension“ konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Gas-Phase (Behandlungen mit DBE-Abgas) und die extrazelluläre Flüssigkeit (Behandlungen mit plasmabehandelter Flüssigkeit) eine bedeutende Rolle bei der Vermittlung der Plasmaeffekte spielen. Die Spezies aus dem Plasma gelangten über die Gas-Phase durch Diffusion/Penetration/ Interaktion in die Flüssigkeits-Phase, reagierten teilweise zu anderen reaktiven Spezies weiter und erreichten so die Zellen. Die verschiedenen analytischen Methoden und anschließende theoretische Betrachtungen der Phasen Plasma-Gas-Flüssigkeit gaben einen detaillierten Einblick in die chemischen Mechanismen von Plasma-Flüssigkeits-Wechselwirkungen und zeigten biologisch wirksame Komponenten auf.
The thyroid as the largest endocrine gland mainly produces and secretes the thyroid hormones (TH): 3,3’,5-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3) and its pro-hormone L-thyroxine (T4). Besides the impact on growth, normal development, bone marrow structure, the cardiovascular system, body weight and thermogenesis, TH play a vivid role in many metabolic regulatory mechanisms in almost all tissues. Thyroid diseases are relatively prevalent and cause, due to the resulting TH imbalances, a broad spectrum of effects. Many of them manifest in pathologically increased or decreased TH levels defined as hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, respectively. Routinely, determination of the thyroid state is based on the assessment of the classical markers TSH and free T4. However, this practice has several drawbacks. Moreover, elucidation of the pleiotropic effects of TH on multiple molecular pathways is mostly based on cell culture, tissue and rodent models. Analysis of animal biofluids like serum and urine using metabolomics approaches demonstrated the extensive impact of TH on other body compartments. In contrast, proteome profiling has not been exploited for the comprehensive characterization of the general metabolic effects of TH. Plasma as a large and diverse compartment of the human proteome provides a great opportunity to identify novel protein markers of thyroid function as well as to characterize metabolic effects of TH in humans.
Therefore, a study of experimental thyrotoxicosis was performed with 16 male volunteers treated with 0.25 mg/d levothyroxine (L-T4) for 8 weeks to induce a hyperthyroid state. Plasma samples were collected before the L-T4 application started, two times during the treatment and additionally two times after withdrawal. Proteome analysis revealed remarkable alterations including increased levels of two known proteins known to correlate with TH levels (sex hormone-binding globulin and cystatin C). The correlation with free T4 levels revealed 76 out of 437 detected proteins with a Pearson correlation coefficient of r ≥ |0.9|. One prominent signature included 10 coagulation cascade proteins exhibiting significantly increased plasma levels during thyrotoxicosis, thereby revealing a trend towards a hypercoagulative state in hyperthyroidism. To overcome the statistical drawbacks of the Pearson correlation analysis, additionally a mixed-effect linear regression model using serum free T4 concentrations as exposure and protein abundances as outcome while controlling for age, BMI, and batch was implemented. Application of this model resulted in the detection of 63 proteins with significant associations to free T4 levels. Besides the already mentioned augmented coagulation, a significant drop in the amounts of three apolipoproteins (ApoD, ApoB-100 and ApoC3) was observed. Furthermore, an increased abundance of proteins assigned to the complement system was detected.
Experimental studies in humans were complemented by corresponding analyses in murine models. In the current work, plasma samples of two murine studies including male C57BL/6 wildtype mice were analyzed to elucidate the impact of thyroid dysfunction on the plasma proteome. The first study was similarly designed as the human model of experimentally induced thyrotoxicosis and assigned the animals to three groups: a control group, a T4 treatment group, and a T4 recovery group, whereupon the latter first received T4 followed by a subsequent TH normalization period. A high proportion of plasma proteins exhibited significantly different protein levels during T4 application (n = 120), where 90 of these also showed a corresponding reverse trend after T4 withdrawal (T4 recovery vs. T4), thereby displaying transient alterations. The molecular pattern of hyperthyroidism in the murine model indicated, as in the human study, a pronounced decrease in apolipoproteins. However, in clear contrast to the human data, the levels of proteins related to the coagulation cascade and complement system were also transiently decreased in mice, while being increased in humans.
The second murine analysis focused on the impact of hyper- and hypothyroidism caused by T3 or T4 treatment and MMI/KClO4 application, respectively. In general, compared to the first murine study less clear alterations of protein levels were detected. Proteins related to the complement system revealed fewer changes in the T3 group and only marginal changes after T4 induction. Unexpectedly, the MMI/KClO4-induced hypothyroidism caused a reduction of the levels of several proteins assigned to the complement system, although different components and factors were affected.
Generally, rodent studies partially provided a divergent picture of TH action as compared to human studies. However, in spite of inconsistent results in studies regarding the effects of TH that are possibly due to species-specific differences, an important role of TH on several metabolic and other pathways, e.g. in the process of blood coagulation and apolipoprotein regulation, is evident. The results from both murine and human studies presented here provide novel insights into changes in the plasma proteome in the context of thyroid diseases which might contribute to a better understanding of TH action on metabolism and other pathways.
The aim of this thesis is to concentrate on the investigation of these ROS&RNS composition distribution and their production pathways in the gas phase produced by a plasma jet. By understanding the physical mechanisms behind the generation of the ROS&RNS a precise tuning and design of the composition distribution in the gas phase can be achieved. One crucial physical parameter is the dissipated power inside the plasma. Only if this parameter is known a meaningful comparison of different feed gas settings is possible. Therefore, a concept for measuring the dissipated power inside the plasma for the modified micro-scaled atmospheric pressure plasma jet( µAPPJ) is designed. Additionally, due to achievements within this thesis it is now possible to ignite a homogeneous discharge in argon and helium within the geometry of the µAPPJ. The used feed gas is a determining factor concerning the electron energy distribution function and consequently influencing the production mechanism of the ROS&RNS. First of all, the electrical characterisation of the modified µAPPJ was performed including the alpha-to-gamma transition. It is shown that the alpha-to-gamma transition power is increasing with increasing frequency. For the first time it is now feasible to investigate the influence of the dissipated power on the neutral gas temperature, the metastable atom densities and the ROS&RNS production for the modified µAPPJ with argon and helium as feed gas. Due to the possibility of changing the feed gas and controlling the dissipated power a fundamental insight into the production mechanism of the ROS&RNS generated by the plasma jet is achieved. With rising dissipated power the temperature and the metastable densities as well as the ozone and nitrogen dioxide concentrations are increasing. By adding molecular oxygen and nitrogen to the feed gas of a plasma jet the ROS&RNS composition can be tuned. However, also the dissipated power is changed by the small amount of admixtures. Due to the developed dissipated power measurements within this thesis it was possible to disentangle the influence of the admixture on the power and on the ROS&RNS production. If the dissipated power is fixed for the µAPPJ with argon and helium feed gas, respectively, the highest amount of ozone was measured with oxygen admixture in an argon discharge, the highest amount of dinitrogen pentoxide with nitrogen admixture in an argon discharge and the highest amount of nitrogen dioxide with nitrogen admixture in a helium discharge. Beyond the influence of the dissipated power and the molecular admixture on the ROS&RNS production the feed gas temperature is a crucial parameter for the corresponding chemical reactions. By changing this parameter the distribution of ozone and nitrogen dioxide can be tuned precisely in such a way that with increasing temperature the ozone density goes down and the nitrogen dioxide density rises. Another determinant for the ROS&RNS composition produced by an atmospheric pressure plasma jet is the influence of ambient air. If the ambient air is changing from pure nitrogen to pure oxygen atmosphere the ozone density produced by the plasma jet is increasing. For the same conditions the nitrogen dioxide has a maximum at an oxygen-to-nitrogen ratio of 1:1. To avoid the influence of the ambient air on the reactive species production the afterglow of the µAPPJ was prolonged with a glass tube. By increasing the amount of molecular admixtures to the feed gas with each in equal quantities a totally different ROS&RNS composition can be obtained compared without the glass tube. It figures out that for small molecular admixtures the reactive species composition is nitrogen dominated and for higher admixtures it is oxygen dominated. Consequently, by shielding the ambient air from the active effluent and by admixing molecular oxygen and nitrogen the ROS&RNS composition can be designed.
The content of this thesis can be summarized as follows: (i) The deposition processes of SiOx and SiOxCyHz coatings were investigated in a low-pressure, low temperature HMDSO-O2-N2 plasmas. Infrared laser absorption spectroscopy (IRLAS) and optical emission spectroscopy (OES) were combined to measure the gas temperatures in the hot and colder zones of the plasma as well as to monitor the concentration of the methyl radical, CH3, and of seven stable molecules, HMDSO, CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, CO and CO2. Tunable lead salt diode lasers (TDLs) and an external-cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL) were simultaneously employed as radiation sources to perform the IRLAS measurements. They were found to be in the range between 10^{11} to 10^{15} cm^{−3}. The influence of the discharge parameters of power, pressure and gas mixture on the molecular concentrations was studied. The plasma generation is characterized by a certain degree of inhomogeneity with different temperature zones, i.e., hottest, hot and colder zones depending on the construction of the reactor. This complexity is characterized by the multiple molecular species including the HMDSO precursor and products in ground and excited states existing in the plasma. (ii) Employing similarly IRLAS and OES techniques, the deposition of nanocrystalline diamond at relatively low temperature in low-pressure MW H2 plasmas with small ad-mixtures of methane and carbon dioxide was investigated. Five methods were applied for an extensive temperature analysis, providing new insights into energetic aspects of the multi-component non-equilibrium plasma. The OES method provided information about the gas temperature of H2 inside the MW plasma. Using lead salt diode lasers, the rotational temperature of the methyl radical, CH3 , and gas temperature of methane molecule, CH4 , was measured. A variety of CO lines in the ground and in three excited states have been analysed using an EC-QCL with a relatively wide spectral range. These methods have shown that based on the construction of the DAA reactor using 16 single plasma sources the plasma generation is characterized by a variety of hottest, hot and colder zones. Extensive measurement of these various species temperatures in the complex plasma enabled the concentration determination of the various stable and unstable plasma species, which were found to be in the range between 10 11 to 10 15 cm −3 . The influence of the discharge parameters, power and pressure, on the molecular concentrations has been studied. To achieve insight into general plasma chemical aspects, the dissociation of the carbon precursor gases including their fragmentation and conversion to the reaction products was analysed in detail. The evolution of the concentration of the methyl radical, CH 3 , of five stable molecules, CH4, CO2, CO, C2H2 and C2H4, and of vibrationally excited CO in the first and second hot band was monitored in the plasma processes by in situ infrared laser absorption spectroscopy using lead salt diode lasers (TDL) and an external-cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL) as radiation sources. OES was applied simultaneously to obtain complementary information about the degree of dissociation of the H2 precursor gas. The analysis of the carbon and oxygen mass balances shows clearly, that the deposition on the reactor walls and the production of other hydrocarbons species may act as sinks for carbon and oxygen. (iii) The absolute line strengths of many P-branch transitions of the ν3 fundamental of {28}^SiH4 were determined using the wide tuning range and the narrow line width of a cw EC-QCL between 2096 and 2178 cm^{−1}. The line positions and line strengths of transitions of the stretching dyad within the P-branch of {28}^SiH4 were determined with an estimated experimental measurement accuracy of 10%. The high spectral resolution available has enabled us to resolve and measure representative examples of the tetrahedral splittings associated with each component of the P-branch. The positions of these components are in excellent agreement with spherical top data system (STDS) predictions and theoretical transitions from the TDS spectroscopic database for spherical top molecules. To our knowledge, this is the first reported measurement of these line strengths in this band and is an example of the applicability of high-powered, widely tunable EC-QCLs to high resolution spectroscopy in the MIR. (iv) Similarly, the determination of the silyl radicals, ν3 band, line strengths is ongoing using the same cw EC-QCL. This effort was impaired by silane and other unknown species lines overlap; however, the silyl radicals was successfully detected in a SiH4/H2 plasma. A method to determine the silyl line strengths has been presented through its iterative decay measurements which relied on the value of the silyl radical self reaction constant. There was a consensus of its value in the literature.
Perspektiven und Risiken des Einsatzes eines körperwarmen elektrischen Plasmas in der Medizin
(2011)
Durch die vorgestellten Studien konnte gezeigt werden, dass Temperatureffekte und UV-Strahlung, die bei der Plasma-Gewebe-Wechselwirkung entstehen, keine Gefährdung für den Menschen darstellen. Die hohe antiseptische Wirkung des Plasmas ist offensichtlich auf die Bildung großer Mengen freier Radikale speziell an der Hautoberfläche, aber auch in den Haarfollikeln zurückzuführen. Die Tatsache, dass das Plasma in die Haarfollikel eindringen kann, stellt einen deutlichen Vorteil gegenüber der Anwendung flüssiger Antiseptika dar. Um jedoch eine effektive Antiseptik der Hautoberfläche zu erreichen, ist es notwendig, Plasma-Jet-Systeme mit einem Durchmesser des Plasmastrahls von ≥ 5 mm zu entwickeln. In diesem Fall ist zu erwarten, dass die Plasmabehandlung mindestens ähnliche Ergebnisse wie die Behandlung mit Octenisept® aufweist. Es ist wahrscheinlich, dass Temperatureffekte, UV-Strahlung und Radikalbildung Synergieeffekte in der menschlichen Haut bewirken, die die antiseptische Wirkung der freien Radikale als Einzelkomponente übersteigen. Damit kommt der Plasmatechnologie in Zukunft eine besondere Bedeutung bei der Wundbehandlung zu. Darüber hinaus konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Plasmabehandlung die Penetration von Partikeln und Agentien stimuliert. Damit eröffnen sich neue Möglichkeiten für eine Plasmaanwendung im Bereich der Wirkstoffzufuhr in und durch die Haut. Inwieweit diese Wirkstoffe vor oder nach der Plasmabehandlung auf die Hautoberfläche aufgetragen werden müssen, ist Zielsetzung weiterer Untersuchungen. Generell kann festgestellt werden, dass es sich bei TTP um eine neue Technologie handelt, die ein hohes Potenzial für den klinischen Einsatz aufweist. Es ist zu erwarten, dass die Anwendung von TTP im medizinischen und biotechnischen Bereich in den nächsten Jahren stark zunehmen wird. Mit der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde eine wichtige Grundlage zur Risikobewertung der Anwendung von TTP in der Medizin geschaffen und ein Beitrag zur Klärung des Wirkungsmechanismus von Plasmen im Gewebe geleistet. Darüber hinaus konnte ein neues Anwendungsgebiet der Plasmabehandlung in Form der Stimulation der Penetration von topisch applizierten Substanzen aufgezeigt werden.
Recent experimental campaigns in the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator, a
plasma-confining device designed to investigate the Magnetic Confinement Fusion
(MCF) approach to generating electrical power, have shown that the injection of
fuelling pellets had an unexpected and considerable impact on the performance of
the plasma. Rather than simply refuelling the device and `diluting' the plasma
energy, pellet injection is followed by a significant increase in the ratio of
the ion temperature to the electron temperature. It has been suggested that this
is not merely due to the improved confinement following the reduction of
turbulent transport after the pellet material has homogenised with the bulk
plasma, but also due to a direct transfer of energy from electrons to ions. The
proposed mechanism for this energy transfer is the ambipolar expansion of the
pellet plasmoid, the localised plasma structure produced by the
ionisation of ablated pellet material, along magnetic field lines.
Early work on pellet plasmoid expansion predicted that half the heating power
deposited in plasmoid electrons by collisions with hot ambient electrons is
transferred to plasmoid ions in the form of flow velocity as the plasmoid
expands. The complicated nature of the system of the pellet plasmoid embedded in
the ambient plasma, particularly the behaviour of electrons, which experience
many collisional and collisionless phenomena on multiple disparate timescales,
means that early models of the expansion were not wholly self-consistent, but
rather made use of strong approximations that apply in some regions of the
plasmoid but not in others. For example, only electrons and ions associated with
the plasmoid were rigorously treated, meaning that the framework was one of
`expansion into vacuum'. Combined with the assumption of Maxwellian electrons,
this led to an electric potential that was unbounded at infinity. Naturally, the
validity of the conclusions of such a model are called into question because the
approximations lose their validity far from the plasmoid and as time advances,
yet predictions about the final state of the plasma are desired. A deeper
investigation is required: careful consideration of the phenomena in question
and the timescales (and lengthscales) on which they act must be made in order to
rigorously construct a model that is valid throughout the entire expansion.
The first two papers presented in this thesis iterate on the model established
in the paper that first predicted the electron-to-ion energy transfer; their aim
was to find out how the character of the expansion changes with a more
sophisticated and accurate description of various phenomena, while remaining
within the existing framework of expansion into vacuum. Ultimately, we find that
the qualitative character is unchanged, and that approximately half the heating
power deposited in plasmoid electrons is transferred to ions.
Two other papers in this thesis address the limitations of the original model.
This is achieved by properly considering the electron kinetic problem in a
plasmoid. One paper considers the electron kinetic problem when electrons are
highly isotropised. In this case the kinetic equation can be integrated to
remove all but two independent variables, which is the maximum possible
reduction considering it is a time-dependent problem. The full nonlinear
integro-differential Landau self-collision operator is integrated exactly and
few approximations are made, leading to a rather general kinetic equation.
However, for fuelling pellets some anisotropy in the electron distribution is
expected. Another paper considers the electron kinetic problem (and the entire
plasmoid expansion) allowing for electron anisotropy. Careful consideration of
the ordering of timescales of electron phenomena in a pellet plasmoid leads to a
steady-state kinetic problem that we call collisional quasi-equilibrium (QE). QE
appears in many ways similar to the collisional steady-state characterising a
true thermal equilibrium. It was found that the time-dependent kinetic problem
of the earlier paper, with isotropic electrons, produces the QE distribution
function, corroborating the existence of the QE state. We then take moments of
the electron kinetic equation that is valid on the expansion timescale, assuming
that the electron distribution is that given as the solution to the QE kinetic
problem. This is completely analogous to what is done to obtain the Braginskii
equations or any Chapman-Enskog theory. The result is a set of equations for the
long-term evolution of the macroscopic quantities that describe the distribution
function existing in a quasi-steady-state at each point in time. It is from this
point that one may feasibly describe the plasmoid expansion with an accurate
picture of the electron kinetics and finally obtain the electron-to-ion energy
transfer so desired in a rigorous model of the expansion.
From a broader point of view, the two frameworks provided by these rigorous
investigations of the electron kinetic problem serve as a basis for the future
study of plasmoids. Such a `first-principles' approach to plasmoid dynamics is
novel and interesting in its own right, but it will be demonstrated that such an
approach is essential for pellet plasmoids owing to the fact that they are
poorly described by the `standard tools' of plasma physics.
Using the QE framework it was found that, once more, about half the heating
power experienced by plasmoid electrons is transferred to plasmoid ions. The
incredible robustness of the prediction of such an energy transfer is, in the
author's opinion, the result of the self-similar nature of the expansion found
as a solution to the original model. As a rule, the profiles of self-similar
solutions tend to be attractors for the `real', more complicated, system, and
the qualitative predictions involving no parameters, of which the
electron-to-ion energy transfer is one, tend to be very sturdy.
Aside from fuelling pellets, composed of hydrogen or deuterium, one paper in
this thesis investigates the physics of high-Z pellets that are designed to
terminate the plasma safely in the event of a `disruption', where much of the
magnetic field energy is channelled into a runaway electron beam with
potentially disastrous consequences if the beam encounters a plasma-facing
component. The paper draws on the work carried out in the paper concerning the
kinetic problem of isotropised electrons in a plasmoid.
This thesis is `cumulative'; the vast majority of the work carried out is
described within a set of Papers, labelled A-E, placed at the back of the text.
There is a preceding `wrapper text' (given in numbered Sections) tasked with
introducing the reader to the topic, guiding the reader through the papers, and
expounding some of their main results. Some amount of material not present in
the papers is also provided in the wrapper text. Naturally, the wrapper text
mainly focusses on the results of the papers which are under my first
authorship. In the course of publishing papers over an extended period of time
the nomenclature is bound to vary. Although it is mostly consistent between the
papers, a few difference do arise, and the section `Common symbols and
subscripts' is provided in the frontmatter to alleviate confusion. Particular
care should be taken with the symbols x and z; both can refer to the
coordinate parallel to the magnetic field line, but in papers where z is used
for this purpose x tends to have another definition. In the wrapper text the
choice of symbols is generally chosen to reflect those in the corresponding
paper.
In this work, various aspects of fundamental physics and chemistry of molecular gas discharges are presented with emphasis on the interaction between species, activated by low-pressure plasmas, and surfaces. As already known, synergistic effects of multiple plasma-generated species are responsible for surface modification. However, due to the large number of internal parameters of a discharge and the complex plasma processes the identification of correlations between plasma characteristics and their effects on surfaces are complicated. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to improve the understanding of several phenomena associated with plasma–surface interactions by measuring or calculating fundamental kinetic, transport or spectroscopic data needed to interpret measurements and hereby, to support some future applications of plasmas.